62 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM starter, complete breadmaking kits and a beginner's guide. Her Instagram account is where she shares her love of sourdough baking by way of tempting recipes, practical advice and encouraging words. She also teaches classes a few times a month, has an Amazon storefront selling recommended tools and bakes for a few clients every month. Deb likes to use the expression “easy peasy” to describe her approach to sourdough breadmaking, as her recipes require minimal equipment and hands-on time. Her two-loaf-pan technique eliminates the need for a Dutch oven, and most of her recipes don’t require kneading. “My goal is to teach people how to make the best loaf of bread for the least amount of work,” Deb says. “I want people to understand that it’s not as hard as it seems.” Beyond perfectly baked loaves of bread (cranberry-walnut is one of her go-tos), Deb has created many recipes for other sourdough-based foods. Among her favorites: scones, focaccia and flour tortillas. She makes tortillas by taking the starter right out of the fridge, making the dough, dividing it into balls and freezing them, enabling fresh tortillas on demand. “They’re so easy and delicious that I tell people once they make them, they’ll never buy flour tortillas again,” she says. {food coloring} Deb answers every question and Instagram direct message personally, ready to help fellow sourdough enthusiasts troubleshoot. “If you’re having trouble, it’s usually one of two things: Your starter isn’t healthy and active or you’ve over-proofed your dough,” she says, adding that over-proofing is one of the most common problems newer bakers tend to experience. “You have to get to know your starter and then be able to tell whether your dough is properly proofed or not, and that’s really different for every recipe and for every environment.” To help people with the process, Deb provides tips for proofing in warm and cold weather, as well as how to slow down proofing or speed it up.
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